As you have no doubt heard (maybe from us?), the federal government recently enacted the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (the “FFCRA”). The FFCRA creates two new types of employer-paid leave: (1) emergency paid sick leave, and (2) paid emergency family and medical leave.
The FFCRA requires all covered employers (including all public schools) to post notice about the Act. Just yesterday (March 25), the U.S. Department of Labor issued a model poster which you can use to satisfy your obligation. This notice must be posted “in conspicuous places” on the school’s premises “where notice to employees are customarily posted.”
So, although your staff lounge is most likely vacant by now, make sure that you have this notice posted prior to April 1, 2020.
The Department of Labor has yet to issue regulations explaining the details of FFCRA (which it claims are forthcoming), but it recently published several non-binding guidance documents, such as this list of FFCRA Q&As. One of the few pieces of new information that the Department of Labor announced was the effective date of this new law: April 1, 2020.
Unfortunately, there has been no revision, regulation, or guidance reversing the federal government’s decision to exclude public school districts (and other political subdivisions) from the group of employers who are entitled to receive payroll tax credits to recoup the expenses that they incur in providing this paid leave. So, come April Fool’s Day 2020, public schools must pay for this employee benefit, and they do not receive payroll tax credits. That’s no joke.
We anticipate that as we get closer to April 1, schools will begin to get inquiries and requests from employees interested in taking one or both of these types of paid leave. As of yet, the Department of Labor has not issued any official forms for you to use in documenting and granting such leave. We will keep a close eye on whether these forms start to be issued and for regulations that will (hopefully) clarify some of the tricky issues that this law has created for schools. We’ll keep you posted (no pun intended, . . . well, sort of) on any updates.
As you begin to navigate the challenges of administering this new paid leave, responding to individual requests, or just trying to understand the poster, we recommend that you work with your school attorney, or contact Karen, Steve, Bobby, Coady, or Jordan for advice on these issues.